Searching for Snorkacks
by lordhellebore
Summary: ONE-SHOT: After the war, Luna takes Harry on a trip.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters or settings of Harry Potter; they all belong to J.K. Rowling and her publishers.

* * *

**Searching for Snorkacks**

When Harry wakes up, Luna is making coffee outside the tent. She's wearing the most ridiculous striped dress that makes her look like some kind of red and white caterpillar, the wind is tousling her hair, and Harry thinks she's one of the most beautiful things he's ever seen.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she says, and Harry goes over to kiss her on the cheek.

"So, what's on the list today?" he asks, his arms still around her waist from behind. "The Snorkacks again? "I'd like to see the little ones, not just the parents."

"All right. But we'll have to be careful; they won't like it if they see us."

He sighs, then makes a face. "Tell me nothing like with the Wrackspurts will happen. That was totally creepy."

"I have no idea! Nobody ever really saw Snorkacks before, you know."

That makes him laugh, and he has to think that this is the most insane thing he's ever done. Grab a tent, a sleeping bag and some clothes, and run off to search for all the weird creatures featured in _The Quibbler_.

"As long as I'm still able to go to Greece afterwards and look for the Aquavirius Maggot, and then to Italy, I guess it's okay, whatever they'll do." He gives her another kiss, but she suddenly turns around and looks at him, her expression serious.

"We've been away for five months now, Harry. I took you so you'd get your mind off everything that happened, but I didn't mean for us to stay away forever. Are you sure you don't want to go to Greece and Italy because you're running away?"

In the beginning, he had been running away, she's right with that. With Voldemort dead – and Hermione as well – he hadn't known what to do with himself any more. He'd rejected everyone's help for months, until people had almost given up on him. Then, one day, Luna had been standing in front of his door, with camping equipment and two dozen issues of her dead father's silly magazine. He'd been surprised, because he hadn't seen her since leaving school over a year ago.

"Let's go on an adventure," she had said. "I need to get away, and I know it's the same with you. They can do without us for some time. Let's search for Snorkacks!"

Harry had thought it was the best idea he'd heard in a long while. He'd packed, written a note, and they'd left.

She hadn't pressured him into talking about anything. During the day she'd just happily chatter on about Snorkacks and other oddities, and to his amazement, they'd found many Mythical creatures which everyone always had assumed were mere inventions.

In the evening, they'd sit by the campfire, eat dinner, and be silent together. And at night, she'd hold him while they slept. She had started to do it the very first night, without explanation, without a word, and he had let it happen.

One night after three months, after they'd watched Glimmergnomes all day long, he had slept with her. She hadn't been surprised when he'd freed himself of her embrace and undressed, but had simply done the same. She had held him when he'd cried afterwards, and then kissed him – because they hadn't before.

They haven't talked about it until now; they've just kissed and had sex, and she'll hold him at night, and they'll hold hands while watching Snorkacks, Slashkilters, Humdingers, and half a dozen other creatures.

"I'm sure," he now says, and he knows it's true. "First, I just wanted to get away, no matter with whom, or where to. Now, I want to look for those Maggots. With you."

Luna smiles, and then it's she who kisses him. "I'm glad," she says, and that's all there is to say, in her opinion, and that's what Harry loves about her. He watches her spread her arms and spin around until she's dizzy and slumps to the ground, laughing. She looks free, and like someone who knows who she is and doesn't care about others. It's what he always wanted, and now it doesn't look so unattainable any more. Seeming a bit crazy is a small price to pay.

"We're not really all that different." That's what she had said in the beginning, when he'd asked her why she'd thought of him to go with her. He hadn't really understood it, then, but he thinks he does now. And he is glad as well.


End file.
